Nonreflective

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not exhibiting the capacity to reflect light or images properly
2. Lacking the quality to bounce back light or to mirror images accurately
3. Characterized by the inability to display reflections of light or reproduce visual images

Etymology: "Nonreflective" is a plain formation: the prefix "non-", meaning "not", attached to "reflective," the adjective from "reflect." That makes it a transparent compound, and its sense follows directly from its parts. "Reflect" comes from Latin "reflectere," meaning "to bend back," built from "re-" (back) and "flectere" (to bend). The idea of bending back is what gives light its reflected path, which is why "reflective" came to describe surfaces that throw light or images back and "nonreflective" describes surfaces that do not. The "non-" prefix itself is Latin "non," "not," and has been freely attached to English adjectives for centuries, so new negated forms like this one can be coined whenever a contrast is needed. In practice, the word is most often used in technical and everyday settings such as optics and photography, where a nonreflective coating or finish is one that suppresses glare.

Synonyms: matte, dull, flat, non-glossy, opaque

Antonyms: reflective, shiny, glossy, luminous, brilliant